New Arcade Proves Games Are A Serious Business For Victoria

August 17, 2017

Home to Academy Award and BAFTA winners and the creators of some of the world’s most popular digital games, an unassuming building in South Melbourne is the epicentre of Victoria’s thriving games industry.

The Arcade, Australia’s largest co-working space dedicated to the digital games, animation and technology industries, has powered up with new expanded premises and is poised for further growth.

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley toured the new facility today, visiting some of Australia’s most creative and successful game studios.

The Arcade was established by the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) in 2013 with 12 resident organisations sharing 550sqm of floor space in Melbourne’s Southbank. Five years later, reflecting the growth of Victoria’s games sector, The Arcade’s new space is four times larger and home to 34 companies.

The Andrews Labor Government has provided support for The Arcade’s relocation and for its future growth.

The Arcade reflects the broad scope of the digital games industry, with residents including game developers, 3D animators, coders, games marketing, publishing and technology companies. It also provides hot desks for independent developers, skills development and training and a space and program for students.

As well as developing games for entertainment, companies based at The Arcade work on serious games and gamification projects that use games technology to help tackle issues in areas such as health and education.

Renowned as a space where Oscar and BAFTA winners mix with students, and where companies with multimillion dollar turnovers share their skills with start-ups, The Arcade has become a magnet for individuals and studios from across Australia and beyond.

A number of the resident companies have relocated from interstate and significant international players are setting up outposts at the site.

Melbourne is where Australia’s games industry began with Australia’s first digital game,The Hobbit, released in 1982. The city is now home to half of the country’s game developers with local companies working on their own games as well as projects for entertainment giants such as Sony, Nintendo and Disney.

“Digital games are the fastest growing global entertainment sector, and our local industry is taking on the world. Games created in The Arcade are played by more than 100 million people across the globe every day.”“Victoria is the only state to have consistently invested in the games industry for more than 20 years, and we are ramping this up.”

“The Arcade is a slice of Silicon Valley in South Melbourne. It supports local games businesses to get to the next level and we are proud to back it as part of our commitment to supporting the jobs and industries of the future.”

Ministerial Office

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Martin Foley MP acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.